Craft Spells // Your Tomb

The nostalgic, winsome dream-pop of Craft Spells' debut record Idle Labor would nestle perfectly alongside Orange Juice's Rip It Up or soundtracking a John Hughes film. I'm just pleased it happened in my era, not someone else's. Enjoy the Aaron Beckum directed noir video to accompany new single Your Tomb below.



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Bleached // Think of You

Yeah it's loose, it's ragged, and leaning so heavily on its influences they're at breaking point. But Think of You is pretty damn wild.

The video directed by Lana Kim & Jennifer Clavin sees the Bleached girls pitching up at various venues, wowing various boys including No Age and Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti bassist Tim Koh, before jumping into a swimming pool of a questionable sanitary state. Sounds alright for a day's shift to us.



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White Denim // Hot Thought

If there's one sure fact in life you can be certain of, it's that no-one does groove like White Denim do groove. This gospel truth is rubber stamped on Hot Thought, a B-side which sees the band reach for the auto-tune rather than the heavy feedback, which some early and ardent rocker fans may see as effeminate, but which Stevie Wonder and James Brown may see as direct threats to their soul and funk crowns. The fact that the boys can pull off this sound with such effortless suavity is testament to their powers, and an indicator that they're coming out of the garage and on to somewhere far grander.

Hot Thought by WhiteDenim

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tUnE-yArDs - Gangsta

Perhaps my favourite track off my favourite record of the year so far now has a suitably restless video accompaniment. Self directed by Merill Garbus, an artist who clearly knows her own mind and artistic vision, the result is a collage of black and white scenes ranging from ghost story torch shots to free dance to rail-side graffiti. Gangsta.



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Male Bonding // Tame The Sun

Male Bonding's video for new single Tame the Sun, lifted from second LP Endless Now, takes you on a journey through the photographed eyes and mouths of childhood. The animated mouths and cropped frame make the whole experience decidedly more sinister than it sounds, while the track's opening bass riff and layered reverb make this track a real standout from the record.

The band are currently touring with The History of Apple Pie, and come to London on October 17th. Watch the video and download the song below.


Male Bonding - Tame The Sun by subpop

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Dominant Legs // Hoop of Love

Hannah Hunt is getting a lot of experience travelling in cars in music videos. Following this jaunt for her band Dominant Legs' Hoop of Love vid she jumped in boyfriend Christoper Owens' ride for Girls' Honey Bunny.

As idyllic, feel-amazing pop songs go, it doesn't get much better than this. Driving with the top down, jumping into lakes, shooting catapults, eating grapes, and any other number of perfect summer pursuits fit for young lovers are crammed into the video, while the song itself screams optimism in a way only the Californians can.

Check out Hoop of Love, earlier track About My Girls and Hunt's other starring rolein Girls' Honey Bunny below, while Dominant Legs' debut LP is out on Lefse Records in the UK on 14th November, which you can stream on Hype here.







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Peggy Sue // Song and Dance

Peggy Sue put in a brilliant turn at Rough Trade earlier this week to announce the release of their new LP Acrobats. By all accounts, it's a much beefier, mature sounding output, with bluesy electric guitars and prominent, Dodos style drums adding to the darker subject matter of the tracks. Enjoy a Song and Dance, released this week on Wichita, below.


Peggy Sue - Song & Dance from Wichita Recordings on Vimeo.

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Breton // The Commission

South London collective of film and music makers Breton have remixed the likes of Local Natives and Chapel Club, toured alongside the recently out of sight but never out of mind Tom Vek, and over the past year have released a series of inspired EPs of atmospheric trip-hop and oppressive post rock, with electronic, occasionally dubby overtones.  

The Commission announces sees the band coming out of the Lab and readying the release of their debut LP with a slower tempo but equally enthralling beats, plus some stunning visuals from collaborator Stuart Sinclair. Check out the video and an early favourites of ours The Well and December below.



DECEMBER by bretonlabs 


BRETON_ The Well by youWILLBEfollowing

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Lana del Rey // Blue Jeans

The lovely Lana del Rey has returned with a video for Blue Jeans, the flip side to July's Video Games. Whilst the track doesn't have the instant charm of the A side single, it's not without its delights, with her femme fatale ramped up to 10 as she declares "I will love you 'til the end of time". To our eyes, there's even a hint of Pretty Woman era Julia Roberts with added attitude in the final shot. Check out the video below.


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First Aid Kit // The Lion's Roar

This teaser trailer from First Aid Kit bodes seriously, seriously well for new record The Lion's Roar. It's not due until January 2012, but with guest appearances confirmed from Conor Oberst and Nate Walcott it's sure to brighten even the darkest winter nights. Check out the video from Mike Mogis' studio below.



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Tokyo Police Club // All My Friends (LCD Soundsystem cover)

Tokyo Police Club do a great job on covers, as proved with their take on Bill Squier's Detroit Has a Skyline for A.V. Club lst year. Lately the band have embarked on a project for Polaroid; 10 days, 10 years, 10 covers. Or to be more expilcit, in 10 days the band are covering 10 tracks from the years 2001 through to 2010. Having taken on Queens of the Stone Age and Moby, TPC opted for LCD Soundsystem's All My Friends for 2007, with spectacular results. Check out all the tracks below and on the Polaroid site here.

Tokyo Police Club: 10 Days, 10 Covers, 10 Years by TokyoPoliceClub

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Lana del Rey // Video Games

Yeah it's old news now, but I have to post the beautiful Video Games from Lana del Rey. A lush, orchestral backing accompanies her lyrical suggestiveness, while the video suggest an almost despondent attitude to the relationship in question. With releases like this an an image crafted as a "gangster Nancy Sinatra", there's surely much more to come from Lana's locker.



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TV Girl // Benny and the Jetts

The opening piano bars of TV Girl's Benny and the Jetts tell you all you need to know about this, their debut EP. Retro, quirky, and darned catchy. The product of Californian duo Trung Ngo and Brad Petering's efforts is 4 tracks of 60s girl group homage mixed with summery sampled beats, which reminds us of Lemonjelly and produces irrestibly enjoyable results. Download and listen to the full EP below.

Benny and the Jetts EP by TV Girl
 

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The Drums // Money (Chad Valley Remix)

After their much debated hype, The Drums' debut album was never going to quite match the expectations many had placed upon the Brooklyn foursome. Following the loss of a member and rumours of a split, their second record is released today. To mark the occasion (or perhaps just because he fancied it) Chad Valley has recrafted Portamento's lead single Money in his own image, which you can check out and download below.

The Drums - Money (Chad Valley Remix) by WorkItMedia

Via The405

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Mazes // Farewell Summer

Italian Beach Babes are about to issue an Eagulls / Mazes split 7" on October 24th, limited to just 500 copies and featurung 2 brand new tracks and 2 Wipers covers from each band.

Having caught a couple of tracks from Eagulls' set at Leeds' Brudenell Social Club, a last minute event following the cancellation of Beacons festival, Mazes realised both bands shared a common love of covering Wipers in their live shows, so decided they had to combine this affection on vinyl.

Check out both Mazes tracks below, and you can pre-order the release here.

Mazes- Messenger by italianbeachbabes

Mazes- Farewell Summer by italianbeachbabes

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S.C.U.M // Whitechapel

S.C.U.M are maturing like a fine wine, and this second release ahead of their eagerly awaited debut album Again Into Eyes, released on 12 September, urges us to favourably compare their evolving sound with Midge Ure or Marc Almond, such is its electronic grandeur and avant garde ambition.

As songs about areas of London go, it doesn't quite fit my image of the area as well as, say, Wiley's Bow E3, but it's a sure fine track and promises much for the rest of the LP. Listen to Whitechapel below, and the download the Light Asylum mix if you so choose.



S.C.U.M Whitechapel by Mute UK

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Veronica Falls // Bad Feeling

For over two years Veronica Falls have been knocking out track after track of stomping, garage-flecked singles like Found Love in a Graveyard and Beachy Head, indie pop laced with bittersweet romance and a hint of the macabre.

Finally ready to go with their debut LP on Bella Union, Bad Feeling picks up where previous singles left off, it's despairing refrain twinned with implications of hanging and drowning in the video (or is that just me). Watch the video below.



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